Leicester and England hooker Tom Youngs has expressed his grave doubts about
the safety aspects of the scrummaging laws, stating that he feels “more
vulnerable” under the new rulings.

Youngs has quickly earned a reputation as a tough, dynamic hooker, forcing his way into the national team and to a starting spot with the Lions in Australia. Yet he believes that the adapted rules will expose him to more potential danger than the old laws, notably in having to take one leg off the ground to strike for the ball.

“You are probably better off not having the ball for your scrum,” said Youngs. “I can’t see where the advantage now lies. The opposition hooker just has to shove. If it’s my ball I’ve got to decide whether to strike for the ball and risk getting driven backwards.

“Look, I don’t want to come across as a wimp or as someone whingeing about what went on in the past. But when blokes used to hook for the ball 15 years ago, everyone around him in the scrum was a lot lighter than they are now, probably less powerful, too. Blokes now will routinely leg press 400kg in the gym. [Leicester tight head] Dan Cole does more than that. I’ve got one prop at 121kg one side, the other at 135kg.

“Even last year, there were times when I just could not lift my leg off the field even if I had wanted to or needed to. It is just not easy, it really isn’t.

“I never used to worry about the old scrums. I used to quite enjoy the hit, getting stuck in there. I never felt exposed or vulnerable. Now, you’ve got to decide to strike or not, twist your body across to get your foot to it or even just your knee. You are more vulnerable.”

Youngs is a relative newcomer to the hooking trade, having been persuaded to give up his status as a decent club centre by current Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer when he was Leicester director of rugby in 2009 and switch to the middle for the front row. It was a radical move but Youngs went on loan to Championship club Nottingham and thrived, breaking into the senior England ranks last season.

“There are a whole generation of hookers who have had no experience of striking for the ball,” said Youngs. “I am not a bleater by nature and I’ll get on with it. But it is not easy, it really isn’t.

“The scrum is still a bit of a mess, with a lot of wheeling and even ­collapses. It is difficult not to hit through the mark and even when you have set you have got to wait for the ref to instruct the scrum-half to put the ball in. It’s not fluent at all. It’s a lot of change for not much actual change in the play.”